Name: Homemade Vanilla Pudding
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 2 cups milk; 2 tablespoon cornstarch; ⅓ cup sugar; ⅛ teaspoon salt; 1 large egg; 2 tablespoon butter; 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

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Rich and creamy Homemade Vanilla Pudding made with only a handful of ingredients and 20 minutes of your time. Skip the boxed pudding, nothing beats homemade!

Table of Contents

two glasses with homemade vanilla pudding topped with whipped cream and berries

The Best Vanilla Pudding

Have you ever made vanilla pudding at home? And I don’t mean the stuff that comes out of the box, I mean completely from scratch! You will love this recipe – in no time at all you can have your very own homemade pudding and it will be the best you’ve ever had, trust me.

Pudding is one of those things that I grew up with. I’ve always loved it, there are so many varieties! Vanilla pudding, chocolate pudding, rice pudding, you name it, I’ll eat it. Quick to put together, even quicker to disappear. It might sound plain, but when you serve it with some berries like I did, you’ve just made an exquisite dessert in only 20 minutes.

Ingredients You’ll Need

overhead shot of ingredients needed to make vanilla pudding

Milk – You can use any milk of your preference, but I wouldn’t recommend skim milk or low fat milk, 2% or 3% would work best.
Cornstarch – You can substitute with flour for a thickening agent – just make sure you are doubling the amount of flour in place of cornstarch.
Sugar – Feel free to reduce the amount of sugar a bit if you choose, I’ve made it with half the sugar and it’s still sweet enough and delicious.
Salt – To taste.
Egg – Large egg.
Butter – I used unsalted, you can use salted butter, but then don’t add anymore salt to the pudding.
Vanilla – I used vanilla extract, you can also use vanilla paste if you wish.

How to Make Vanilla Pudding

Heat Milk – In a medium saucepan heat the milk until it starts to bubble, over medium heat. Make sure to stir occasionally so that it doesn’t burn on the bottom, and watch it so that it doesn’t boil over.
Combine Dry Ingredients – In a bowl, combine the cornstarch, sugar and salt. Add to the hot milk, a little at a time, stirring continuously to dissolve.
Add Wet Ingredients – In another bowl beat the egg and gradually stir a couple ladles of the hot milk mixture into the egg (this is called tempering), then pour this mixture back into the saucepan. Continue to boil and stir for another minute, then remove from heat. Stir in the butter and vanilla extract until the butter has melted and the pudding is smooth.
Chill and Serve – Pour the pudding into dessert dishes, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled before serving.

overhead shot of two glasses filled with vanilla pudding

How to serve

You can really add whatever you’d like to your pudding! Just make sure to let it cool completely before serving. I love mine with fresh berries – strawberries and blueberries are my go to.

You can even add your pudding to other desserts – layer or mix it into a cake, add it to a trifle like my angel berry trifle, or make a parfait – the choice is yours! However you choose to serve your pudding, guaranteed it’s going to be delicious.

Leftovers

Store leftover vanilla pudding covered in the refrigerator, it will last for up to 7 days! Perfect to reuse for parfaits or snacks during the week.

vanilla pudding in a glass topped with fresh berries and whipped cream

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